The planes leaving Dubai are modern and larger. Its the ones leaving Djbouti that concern me.

Norf, i rather revel in my ignorance than pretend to be knowledgeable, no sham or shambles,no bended knees and best of all no vindicative punishment is attached to my Ignorance. Throwing the toys out of the pram as per usual . That statement reminds of the playground 'I know you are, you said you are but what am I?' Your barking up the wrong tree mate (again),,,

I had a feeling you would come out of the woodwork Glad to see ignorance is still in abundance

^^Dont tell me they work in SL?? I know there are 'Pino' waitresses there but not house maids surely??

Shaqo raadis,,,,

200 Iraqi Yazidis killed in targetted attacks Agencies Last updated: August 15, 2007, 11:16 Baghdad: Four suicide bombers struck nearly simultaneously at communities of a small Kurdish sect in northwestern Iraq, killing at least 200 people and wounding 300 more, Iraqi military and local officials said. The death toll in the late Tuesday attack was the highest in a concerted attack since November 23, when 215 people were killed by mortar fire and five car bombs in Baghdad's Shiite Muslim enclave of Sadr City. And it was most vicious attack yet against the Yazidis, an ancient religious community in the region whose members are considered infidels by some Muslims and Christians. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The bombings came as extremists staged other bold attacks: leveling a key bridge outside Baghdad and abducting five officials from an Oil Ministry compound in the capital in a raid using gunmen dressed as security officers. Nine US soldiers also were reported killed, including five in a helicopter crash. US officials believe extremists are attempting to regroup across northern Iraq after being driven from strongholds in and around Baghdad. Such a retrenching could increase pressure on small communities such as the Yazidis, a primarily Kurdish group with ancient roots that worships an angel figure considered to be the devil by some Muslims and Christians. Yazidis, who don't believe in hell or evil, deny that. The Islamic State in Iraq, an Al Qaida front group, distributed leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of Tuesday's bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic." The sect has been under fire since some members stoned a Yazidi teenager to death in April. She had converted to Islam and fled her family with a Muslim boyfriend, and police said 18-year-old Duaa Khalil Aswad was killed by relatives who disapproved of the match. A grainy video showing gruesome scenes of the woman's killing was later posted on Iraqi Web sites. Its authenticity could not be independently verified, but recent attacks on Yazidis have been blamed on Al Qaida-linked Sunni insurgents seeking revenge. The suicide bombings came just after sundown near Qahataniya, 120 kilometers west of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, said Abdul-Rahman Al Shimiri, the top government official in the area, and Iraq army Capt. Mohammed Ahmed. "My friend and I were thrown high in the air. I still don't know what happened to him," said Khadir Shamu, a 30-year-old Yazidi who was injured in Tal Azir, scene of two blasts. At least one of the trucks was an explosives-laden fuel tanker, police said. Shops were set ablaze and apartment buildings were reported crumbled by the powerful explosions. Dhakil Qassim, a mayor in the town of Sinjar near the attacks who blamed Al Qaida in Iraq, said the four trucks approached Qahataniya from dirt roads and they all exploded within minutes of each other. http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10146750.html

Yazidis: a secretive, syncretic sect Agencies Published: August 15, 2007, 12:58 Yazidis are predominantly ethnic Kurds whose religion blends elements of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Small communities of Yazidis can be found in Syria, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia, but the majority of the estimated 100,000 believers live in Iraq. Most Yazidis, even young people, choose to live in these isolated communities, though they often face extreme poverty. Yazidis worship an angel figure, Malak Ta'us, or Peacock Angel, who is considered to be the devil by some Muslims and Christians. Yazidis - who don't believe in hell or evil - deny that. Many Yazidi rituals center on Sheik Adi, a Sufi Arab who lived in northern Iraq in the 12th century and is considered the religion's chief saint. Pilgrims hold festivals near his tomb, north of Mosul. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many Yazidi traditions are shrouded in such secrecy that most have never been witnessed by outsiders. Yazidis regard marriage outside their faith as a sin punishable by ostracism or even death to restore lost honor. http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10146760.html

^^Come on now, you know Nay'tionalist' wakes up every day and thinks Somaliland. Regardless of what the TFG and Ethios are doing in the south, its all Somaliland for him. He is a true 'nationalist' afterall..... ps would you think of changing the sitting room colours if the kitchen next door was on fire??? Some people think paint has structural advantages

Had my coffe and lucnh. Winding down now,,,,, Got a football match tonight. Hope i dont get injured again

Originally posted by Dabshid: Thanks,Tomorrow at 10 am ,will reach destination by 6 am! Couple of movies to watch! Waxa la yidhi you get wareer when you get off the plane in Australia/New Zealand. Ma run baa saxib?

Housemaids in LA?? I thought they were all Mexicans/Poertos?

These contractors are operating not only in Iraq (no I cant prove it). I always thought the Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum (phat flicks!) had an element of truth in them.

^^Safar salaam insha Allah. I cant handle 3 hours on a plane let alone 16 hours! When are you going IA?

Reading this here article has cast my mind back to the old days of being new to the UK and then later to when I was starting out in the construction industry. Can’t say I experienced anything near what Malik has, but I think it is inevitable for everyone to experience some form of racism especially in 1986, when there was hardly a Somali in sight! I think experiencing racism (non violent forms thereof) is good for you and makes you a stronger person. What say you SOLers? UK Muslim Minister Rides out Racism IslamOnline.net & Newspapers CAIRO — School beating, police assault and work taunts have marked Shahid Malik's path to his current prestigious post as Britain's first Muslim minister. "You just accepted it, and looking back on it I don’t bear any grudges towards any of those people. The truth is that they were ignorant. And so really it wasn’t their fault, they were just children," Malik, the junior minister in the Department for International Development, told The Times newspaper in an interview published Saturday, August 11. Malik said the racism he faced at his early life was one of the turning points "that formed the person that I am." Malik described his native town of Burnley, in north-west England, as one of the poorest wards in the country and "probably the most racist environment anybody could ever be brought up in." In Burnley, he attended a whites-dominated school. "That sometimes used to feel like thirty against one," he said. He recalled racist assaults he came across in his childhood, which ranged from being beaten "pretty badly" by four skinheads in his first week at secondary school, to being stabbed in the leg with a chisel during woodwork after an argument about race. In 2001, when race riots broke out across northern Britain, Malik was forced down on the ground by policemen in Burnley. "I walked up to this officer and said to him, ‘Listen, everything’s going to be OK. I’m going to move this lot and there’ll be no trouble whatsoever’," Malik said. "Within seconds he had lifted his shield and started to smash it in my face. And then the batons came out and I was knocked unconscious." Malik said he was in a state of shock not because the police officer who abused him went with apparent impunity and is still in office. "You can imagine, I was a commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality, I was the only ever British commissioner to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. I was on Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) sitting with Tony Blair and others. "And I’d been commended for my work in calming the situation for the last two days, and here I’d been knocked unconscious, my face was soaked in blood, I had cuts to my chest and arms," he said. But he never generalized or stigmatized the entire security establishment for the work of few. The day after he left hospital, during the unrest in 2001, he was out patrolling the streets with the police "to show that the police aren’t bad." Malik was also the victim of a hit-and-run incident in a Burnley petrol station, his parent’s family car was firebombed and, while walking the street, he was surrounded by 20 members of the extreme-right group Combat 18, who said that they were going to kill him. Commons Racism Shahid was little known in Labour circles until he was elected to the Labour's NEC (the first non-white person to hold that position) at his first attempt in 2000. His family tried in vain to dissuade him from racism-marred politics. "They think it’s thankless. In the autumn of 2003, the family were just saying to me, ‘Listen, you’ve been through quite a lot, just stop it. You’re not going to get a (parliamentary) seat.’ And I just thought, ‘These people are mad. Of course I’m going to get there’." His father's warnings proved true. Once Malik made it to the House of Commons as an MP for the West Yorkshire constituency of Dewsbury, he began encountering a new round racism. He still vividly remembers one incident. "We’re on the terrace, there was me and there were two female colleagues, white. And one of the security guys ignored both of them and came up to me and said, ‘Sir, have you got any ID?’ I think you learn through experience to just be very patient and just be very relaxed about these things . . ." he recalled. But the thing that annoyed him the most, he said, is that after two years in Parliament he is still got confused along with his fellow Muslim Labour MP Sadiq Khan. "Everybody has got our names wrong – the Speaker has got us confused, the Deputy Speaker has got us confused. MPs get us confused constantly." After two years it was "a bit unforgivable," he said. Malik rejected that his unpaid new post in cabinet was largely symbolic, noting that this role was more important to him than money. It just proved that "the Government actually isn’t trying to be overly politically correct," he said. He continued: "It’s an unpaid role, he happens to be Muslim, so what? Big deal. It shouldn’t send out any messages.” Later, he added suddenly: “Forget about being paid, I would pay to do this job." But he is not sensitive about being handpicked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown because he is Muslim. "I don’t mind if people say that I’m here because I’m a Muslim in the same way that women have had to endure [discrimination] for years," said. Now Malik says he bears no grudges whatsoever towards those who abused and showered him with racist taunts. And he is as patriotic as the British constitution itself. "I always thought of myself as very much British, very much that this is my country," he said. "I still say it’s the best country in the world to live." source

What airline?

What airline?

^^Yes I'm an Arab, sometimes Maid writes letter to mother before committing suicide By Nasouh Nazzal, Staff Reporter Published: August 14, 2007, 23:35 Ras Al Khaimah: An African maid committed suicide on Tuesday in Al Rams area leaving a note addressed to her mother asking for her prayers. The 26-year-old Ethiopian maid identified as A.S hanged herself to death with a rope fixed to the ceiling of a toilet at the house of her Emirati sponsor. Police have started an investigation into the case. Captain Ahmad Abdullah, Acting Head of Al Rams Police Station said they received a report from the sponsor who was shocked to find her maid hanging. Police found a letter written by the maid herself. She did not mention a reason for committing suicide. Captain Abdullah said the investigations clearly showed that the maid did not have any motive to commit suicide. The suicide of the maid was surprising for the sponsor who testified that her maid never demanded anything and that she led a normal life. The case was referred to the Public Prosecution. http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10146684.html

^^ At least you have the four seasons. I don’t know if its May or December here. Not necessarily a good thing,,,,, Aaaahhhhh, coffee,,,,,,

^^Hope all is well saxib. You havnt updated me on what your doing these days. Any signs of Mr 187 in his out-of-date Henry shirt? Or Bob with 1998 Anelka shirt? Or even Winger with his oversized Rooney shirt No predictions this year saxib. One game at a time. A BIG game on Sunday and I'm looking forward to it.

Duke and his ilk would be quick to tell you those civilians reported by an independent media were in fact troublemakers. Any so-called troublemakers become troublemakers when killed or arrested.

LoL@Jimcaale, wa runta saxib JB we shall continue tomorrow IA

Thierry, stereotype away saxib. A Sri Lankan maid ran away from her sponsor because she was abused and made to work for three families instead of one. They made her work 24 hrs a day and visit three different homes to work for their kids and their grand kids as well. She is now very happy with a Somali family and keeps stating Somalis are very good people. So we might be nasty to each other but to others who are less privileged we are fair.

I don't think the idea of mutawa is a bad one. It depends on how it gets implemented. With full accountability through an independent commission (which includes women). We will be accused of being hardliners now

What has the guy done apart from: * extort people at Berbera Port * earn 400k a year (the highest paid president) * arrest people/journalists/political opponents without good reason * not sign the 2007 budget delaying funds to schools/development projects * not go through parliament on a number of issues etc etc

Maid Claims Slave Status in Household RIYADH, 14 August 2007 — The woman on the other end of the phone line had a disturbing story to tell. Speaking in Tamil, Anista Marie of Chilaw, a coastal town about 70 km from Colombo, says she has been imprisoned in a house in Riyadh for the past 10 years. Were it not for a sympathetic family member, she may not have been able to make the phone call to Arab News yesterday. “When I came here I was 30 years of age,” she told this reporter. “Now I am 40 and I have never taken holiday leave, nor have I been paid in the past eight years.” Marie is asking authorities to rescue her from the Saudi household, but she is unsure of her location. She said she only knows that she is in Riyadh because a maid from a visiting family told her. After speaking to the woman, Arab News immediately contacted K.B.G. Premadasa, the Sri Lankan Embassy’s secretary of labor affairs, who called the number provided to Arab News by Marie, and spoke to whom he believes is the maid’s sponsor, a woman. “She refused to give her whereabouts,” he said, adding that the embassy was going to contact local authorities about the case. Marie, whose voice was trembling, said she had four children back home. She says that her husband, a fisherman, has passed away. She said she learned of her husband’s fate from a third party two years after his death. According to the woman, the household consists of three women with four teenage daughters. “There are no men in the house,” she said. “They assault me when I say that I want to go home. It’s worse when I talk about the salary.” According to the maid, the first two years were relatively normal: She was paid her salary and went out with the family. “Back then I bought things for my children,” she said. “They’re still packed in two suitcases and the clothes can’t be used now because they’ve grown out.” Marie says that one of the teenage girls sympathizes with her, which is possibly why she was able to contact Arab News. Food isn’t an issue, she pointed out, but she’s been living under false promises for so long that she says that at this point she’s only interested in escape. “I believed them for so long. Now I have lost all hope,” she said. “Let me go home and see my children and die on my soil.” Last year 64-year-old Filipino Leonora Somera was discovered to have worked 18 years without pay, partly as a shepherd in Al-Baha, about 275 km south of Jeddah. Her situation was exacerbated by the fact that the son of her sponsor, who had passed away, was also not providing her with sustenance. Somera is still in a women’s shelter in Jeddah, run by the Philippines Consulate, fighting to recoup nearly 20 years of back pay. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=99783&d=14&m=8&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom